The accused killer is a model, Instagram influencer

Accused Brooklyn killer Nikki Secondino is a social media influencer who has amassed more than 15,000 followers on Instagram, The Post has learned.

The 22-year-old transgender online model has dozens of sultry photos on her Instagram page and once told an interviewer that she had a contract with a modeling agency and attended the Fashion Institute of Fashion.

« Who is your idol this year, » she wrote in an Instagram post last month. « Me. »

« The bags under my eyes are Gucci, » she wrote in another post.

In another November 2019 post, Nikki addressed her « body image issues. »

« Today I partnered with @bodypositivityvibes and @body.positive.xoxo to raise awareness of body image issues, » she wrote. « Below are statistics of body image issues people have in the United States alone. »

In a candid 2020 interview on the « United We Rant » podcast, Nikki opened up about her sometimes difficult transition into being a woman and discussed her modeling career.

“People were constantly telling me I should get into it and stuff. At the time a friend of mine [in high school] she was a very good photographer. So we created a portfolio of things and I had a professional photographer do some shots for me and everything.

She said she sent the footage to various agencies and eventually had an expressed interest.

« I started modeling and booking gigs and stuff and it was the best decision I ever made, » she said. “I am very well paid. They pay me very well, but it’s also sometimes a very toxic environment.

“You have people here and there who can say [I’m transgender] », she helps. « Like anything, out of my voice, out of my face. I have a real female body but like some people can time you. Like your shoulders are too wide, your ribs are anything.

She said she was born Nicholas Secondino, but realized she was trans when she was just five – and threw a tantrum at Target when her mum forced her to try on the jersey bathing suit and a boy’s clothes, feeling totally uncomfortable with this wardrobe.

At the age of 16, Nikki said she started taking hormones – and said her father had supported her through her transition.

« My dad had a strong personality, » she said. « He didn’t let it affect him. My mom, surprisingly, took it a little harder than my dad. That’s how it happened.

She said her parents divorced while the family lived in New Jersey and she moved back to New York and was living in Westchester County at the time of the podcast.

« I was in therapy regularly, » Nikki said. « I hated the process of hiding that part of myself. »